Spike TV 10th Annual Video Game Awards to be broadcast on Xbox Live with SmartGlass integration

Spike TV today announced the nominees of “VGA TEN” (#VGA) – the network’s tenth annual live televised event to celebrate the best in video games. “VGA TEN,” hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, will simulcast on MTV 2, MTV Tr3s, Xbox LIVE,Spike.com and GameTrailers.com.

The U.S. Xbox LIVE stream of the VGAs will showcase groundbreaking interactivity that lets users “play” the show as it happens live in Los Angeles. Responses to poll questions will be tabulated in real time on screen for the Xbox LIVE audience and users with Xbox Smartglass will get a unique second-screen experience that updates in real time alongside the show content.

Xbox Smartglass is available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

“This unprecedented partnership with Xbox will make ‘VGA TEN’ the biggest worldwide gaming event ever; we’re thrilled to be the first awards show presented on Xbox where our fans play every day,” said Casey Patterson, Executive Producer of the “VGAs” and Executive Vice President of Production for Entertainment Group. “There is no more innovative producer than Mark Burnett to engage the fans on a whole new level in our big anniversary year.”

“I am blown away by how cool Xbox LIVE is. It brings the ‘VGAs’ to gamers in a completely new and innovative way,” said Mark Burnett, Executive Producer of the Video Game Awards. “Now viewers will not only watch the show but actually interact with it and our host Samuel L. Jackson in real time like a video game, creating a 360 degree conversation between the ‘VGAs’ and all of the fans watching at the same time. And the only thing cooler than Xbox is Samuel L. Jackson.”

“Xbox makes your entertainment more amazing, and we can’t wait to team up with Viacom and Mark Burnett to make the VGAs the first-ever interactive TV awards show to be broadcast on Xbox LIVE,” said Marc Whitten, Corporate Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft. “Our teams are working together to create a groundbreaking interactive TV experience that will turn VGA viewers into VGA participants.”

Below are several of the nominees and categories for Spike TV’s “VGA TEN.” For a full list, see VGA.spike.com.

Game of the Year

“Assassin’s Creed III” (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal)

“Dishonored” (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)

“Journey” (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany)

“Mass Effect 3” (Electronic Arts/BioWare)

“The Walking Dead: The Game” (Telltale Games)

Best Action Adventure Game

“Assassin’s Creed III” (Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal)

“Darksiders II” (THQ/Vigil Games)

“Dishonored” (Bethesda Softworks/Arkane Studios)

“Sleeping Dogs” (Square Enix/United Front Games)

Best Shooter

“Borderlands 2” (2K Games/Gearbox Software)

“Call of Duty: Black Ops II” (Activision/Treyarch)

“Halo 4” (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries)

“Max Payne 3” (Rockstar Games)

Studio of the Year

343 Industries

Arkane Studios

Gearbox Software

Telltale Games

Most Anticipated Game

“BioShock Infinite” (2K Games/Irrational Games)

“Grand Theft Auto V” (Rockstar Games)

“South Park: The Stick of Truth” (THQ/Obsidian Entertainment)

“The Last of Us” (Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog)

“Tomb Raider” (Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics)

For additional information about other “VGA” world exclusives and announcements, fans can log onto VGA.spike.com and get updates via Twitter @SPIKETV as well as the hashtag #VGA.

The interactive multiplatform special will premiereLIVE from Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, CA on Friday, December 7 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on Spike TV. Read more at Spike.com here.